India condescends:

India has
condescended to the Sri Lankan efforts, to bring about
peace and harmony in the war-torn country, through the
Norwegian initiated mediation. However, In its conflict
with Pakistan, India has stubbornly opposed to third
party mediation and facilitation and held a firm view not
to allow third party meddling in the South Asian affairs.
Any how, it relented and softened its stance with the Sri
Lanka's efforts in securing Norwegian initiative to
facilitate talks between the Government and the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), to find a
sustainable solution to the long drawn out conflict.

Recently,
(on February 25), Lionel Fernando, the Sri Lankan Foreign
Secretary was in New Delhi, to brief his Indian
counterpart Lalit Mansingh, on the Sri Lankan
Government's arrangements to resolve the ethnic conflict
and the Norwegian initiative to broker peace in the
country. Fernando made a startling revelation that the
nature of Norway's initiative is only to facilitate talks
between the Government and the LTTE and not a mediation
effort. Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary's statement
contradicts the basic position adopted by the Tiger
Supremo Velupillai Prabakaran, who has throughout
insisted on a third party mediated political negotiation
with the Sri Lankan Government.

Earlier,
India's policy towards Sri Lanka was intricately linked
with the plight of the Sri Lankan Tamils and the Tamils
of the Indian origin. In the 80's, Indian relations with
Sri Lanka became amongst the most complex, difficult and
sensitive to manage, but deteriorated to the worst, after
the signing of the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord, in 29 July
1987. However, after the withdrawal of the Indian Peace
Keeping Forces (IPKF), India started adopting a
non-intrusive policy with Sri Lanka. Gradually, it
developed interest in improving bilateral relations in
all fields of mutual interest.

In line
with its new policy, India considers the ethnic conflict
in Sri Lanka an internal issue. According to the latest
policy stance India has declared that it respects Sri
Lankan Government's right to deal with the internal
situation the way it liked, a fait accompli, and nodded
its approval for the Norwegian initiated peace process.
It is further reported that, Lalit Mansingh, the Indian
Foreign Secretary has expressed hope and emphasized,
"eventual; solution to the ethnic problem would be
comprehensive in its scope, meeting the legitimate
aspirations of the Sri Lankan society, within the
framework of the unity and territorial integrity of Sri
Lanka."

India and
the LTTE:

In the
meantime, according to available reports, India which has
already banned the LTTE after the assassination of Rajiv
Gandhi, has not raised any issues about Prabakaran and
other leaders of the LTTE, who are internationally
proclaimed offenders in the assassination case and for
whom the Interpol has already issued with the Red Notice.
It was a sigh of relief for Sri Lanka, when India at this
juncture :

has
not demanded the extradition of the proclaimed
offenders of the Rajiv Gandhi's murder.

for
India's obvious change in the attitude towards
the Tamils by completely ignoring any mentions
about the Tamils as usual to safeguard their
interest in the statement made by the Foreign
Secretary of India and using the choosy phrase
"acceptable to all sections of the
society."

and
for making a generalized benign statement amounts
to an endorsement of the Government's stand in
the ethnic conflict.

On the
other hand, it was further intriguing to note that, the
Americans, who have also banned the LTTE, continue to
maintain a studied silence on the Norwegian initiated
peace efforts in the country. On February 25, the
American Secretary of State, Madeline Albright released
the "Country Reports on the Human Rights Practices -
1999," to the representatives of print and
electronic media. Not a word was found mentioned about
the Norwegian initiated peace process in the section of
the report, that dealt intrusively about Sri Lanka.

Norway -
the seasoned Peace Campaigner:

Sri Lankan
Government has mandated Norway, to initiate negotiations
to bring about a permanent solution to the decades-long
ethnic tension and conflict in the country. Norway, a
country with 4.4 million peace loving people, is a
seasoned peace campaigner. Norway, is a kingdom with King
Harald V (1991- to date), a hereditary constitutional
monarch as the head of the Royal Norwegian Government,
that supports international cooperation and settlement of
disputes amicably and peacefully. The country is also
dedicated in encouraging democracy, assisting refugees
and protecting human rights, throughout the world.

Since 1814
to 1905, Norway was merged with Sweden in a union. In
1905, the union came to an end. Norway became an
independent nation, but the country still continues with
the constitution adopted on 17 May 1814. Norway is one of
the leading Western European nations, that voted against
joining the European Union, at a referendum held on 1994.
Since 1990, it is energetically involved in bringing
about peace and harmony in various countries. It has
successfully involved with the peace process in Guatemala
and in the Middle East.

The Oslo
Accord, also known as the "Declaration of
Principles," was signed between the Israel
Government and the Palestinian Liberation Organization
(PLO), on 30 August, 1993, remained unknown to the world,
until it was completed. Two days later only, the World
learned about the full scope of the negotiations, that
had been initiated and carried out in Norway. This
negotiation was carried out without the assistance of the
world's most popular peace-broker, the Americans.

While
negotiations with Israel, Palestinian, Jordanian and
Syrian representatives were being held in Washington, the
real ground-breaking work was done through the initiative
of Yossi Belin, the Norway's labor party member, who
initiated series of private negotiations with the PLO in
Oslo, upon the recommendation of Shimon Peres, who was at
that time, the Foreign Minister of Israel. Senior Israeli
and PLO officials held a series of 14 secret meetings in
Norway and 3 in another country, moderated by Terje
Larsen, with the able guidance of the Norway's foreign
Minister John Jorgen of the Labor party Government,
before the parties to the conflict set their hands on the
Accord.

Later,
Shimon Peres in his book, "The New Middle
East," wrote that the decision to locate the talk in
Norway was by no means unintentional. He wrote that the
negotiations began far from the flash of the cameras and
the shouts of reporters. He added, "of course, the
dialogue began slowly, step-by-step. It seemed strange at
first, almost impossible to achieve our goals, but time
passed, we could discern for the first time some small
signs of flexibility among the Palestinian."
Substantively, the PLO and Israeli teams had much to talk
about to conclude positively with an Accord, which ended
the belligerent campaign between both parties existed
since the creation of Israel, on 14 May 1948. The
statement goes to proof the persevering efforts of Norway
in achieving the impossible.

Norwegian
politics:

Since
1990, Labor leader Gro Harlem Brundtland, who presently
heads the World Health Organization (WHO), served as the
Prime Minister, until she decided to step out of politics
in October 1996. Subsequently, Labor leader Thorbjorn
Jangland formed a new Labor Government and stayed in
office until October 1997. In the general elections held
on 17th October 1997, to a 165-member modified unicameral
parliament - Storting, though Labor party won 65 seats,
but the leader of the Labor Party did not come forward to
form the government, as his party have failed to win at
least 36.9% percent of the national vote in the 1997
general elections, the percentage of votes they won in
1993. The onus of forming the Government fell on the able
shoulders of Kjell Magne Bondevik, the leader of the
Christian Democratic Party, who formed a three party
coalition and moved in to lead a minority government.
Bondevik's non-socialist coalition is composed of the
Centre Party - with 11 members, Christian Democratic
Party - with 25 members and the Liberal Party - with 6
members. The coalition parties control only 42 members in
the 165 member Storting and the coalition governs on the
basis of shifting alliance in the parliament.

When the
new minority government led by Kjell Magne Bondevik
decided to continue with the Norwegian new found
tradition of assisting in the search for peace in the
conflict plagued regions, this writer indicated in his
article, "Lethal Dance must End" dated 24
October 1998, appeared in the "Weekend
Express," Colombo, as follows:

"Pursuit
of peace is the noblest thing, and one could go far for
this. Contacts are being established independently with
the Scandinavian countries to ascertain their willingness
to facilitate such talks." Due to restraint placed
on the writer at that particular period of time, the
country name was withheld but was generalized. During the
Presidential election held in December 1999, the Sri
Lankan President informed openly her contact with Norway
and her request to facilitate the talks.

A master
of Diplomacy:

Norwegian
Foreign Minister Knut Vollebaek, before coming to
Colombo, met with Anton Balasingham, the political
advisor and theoretician of the LTTE in London, on 12
February, and held talks to ascertain the possibility of
Norway assisting peace talks between Sri Lankan
Government and the Tamil Tigers. During the course of a
two hour discussion, Anton Balasingham appraised the
Minister the LTTE's position on peace talks and on the
negotiated settlement.

Subsequently,
on the invitation of the Sri Lankan Government, Knut
Vollebaek was on a day's official visit to Colombo on 16
February, at the invitation of Lakshman Kadirgamar, the
Sri Lankan Foreign Minister. The Norwegian Foreign
Minister had discussion with his Sri Lankan counterpart
on the subject of Norway assisting discussions to take
place between the Sri Lankan Government and the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Later he met
with the Ranil Wickremasinghe, the Leader of the
Opposition.

When
Vollebaek met Chandrika Kumaratunge Bandaranbaike, the
Sri Lankan President, at her fortified official
residence, for a four hour marathon discussion, where he
informed the President that, Norway was willing to accept
the challenging task of initiating political dialogue
between the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE, aimed at
resolving the ethnic problem.

The
bespectacled, astute Knut Vollebaek, the Foreign Minister
of Norway is a career diplomat, a skilled tactician in
quiet diplomacy, was born on 11 February 1946, and is
married with one child. He holds degrees in political
science and economics. He started his career at the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1973. He has been posted
in New Delhi, Madrid and Harare. Vollebaek became the
Ambassador to San Jos? 1991-93, later, held positions as
Head of division and Director General at the Foreign
Ministry. He was also the State Secretary for Kjell Magne
Bondevik from 1989 to 90, Assistant Secretary General for
Development Cooperation since 1994. Again in 1997, he was
appointed as Ambassador to Paris prior to accepting the
daunting foreign ministerial portfolio.

Mandating
Norway for the search for Peace.

At the
meeting with the Sri Lankan President, Knut Vollebaek
discussed about the modalities for talks and about the
proposed talk with the Tigers. He stressed that "a
basis for a dialouge must be established between the
parties."

Following
his meeting with the President, Vollebaek ingeniously in
diplomatic parlance, said about the acceptance of the
mandate to search for peace, as follows:

"Upon
the request from the President and following a wish from
the LTTE, I have today informed the President that,
Norway is willing to accept the challenging task of
trying to bring the parties together in such a dialouge.
We have also discussed modalities for commencing direct
talks."

Now, the
real search for peace to the ethnic conflict is on in
Norway. Normally, Sri Lankans are used to 'long' for all
sorts of details and gossips about negotiations, peace
process, but it is unlikely for them to get any grist to
their mill, when Norway is in the helm of the process.
Norway is a seasoned campaigner and it would be very hard
to get any such trivial details, until a conclusive
result is achieved.

Norway's
peace initiative psychedelically augurs well in the
country. Speculations are rife, subsequent to the sojourn
to Colombo by the Norwegian Foreign Minister. Even sky is
not the limit for the stretches of imaginations so far
projected by a section of the local and Indian print and
electronic media. Contemporaneously, as usual, the
country is witnessing the emergence of the chauvinistic
dark forces in the political horizon, bent on sabotaging
the peace process that is in its initial stages.

Sri
Lankan President and the peace process:

Earlier,
the Sri Lankan President's ranting of peace and her
constant refrains were outwardly an ostentatious show,
and she continued with her belligerent campaigns, and
rhetorical harangues against her warring partner, the
Tamil Tigers. Unfortunately, up to now, she has yet to
achieve victory either in war or peace. Her chauvinistic
idiosyncrasy, long berating against the oppositions,
allegations against the independent media have yet to win
the hearts and minds of the Tamils.

So far,
the Sri Lankan President, it is observed, has failed to
display her sincerity towards her peace overtures. Her
loud chorus for peace and her proposal for negotiation
with the LTTE to end the ethnic conflict, seems to be a
winding path with potholes and speed-breakers. Whilst she
appeals with the Tamils and other interested groups to
induce the LTTE to come to the negotiating table, she
still continues to engage her armed forces with the
military campaign to fight the Tigers.

Unfortunately,
up to now, she has failed to declare a unilateral
cessation of hostilities that would infuse certain degree
of believability. In 1994, when Chandrika Kumaratunge won
the parliamentary general elections and assumed office as
the Prime Minister, the Tiger leader unilaterally
declared the cessation of hostilities and antagonism, to
display his honest intentions. Now, it is Sri Lankan
President's turn to display her position to exhibit her
genuine involvement in the peace process.

Once it
has been decided to send a high level governmental
delegation to Oslo to meet with the LTTE representatives,
the President Chandrika Kumaratunge has not come forward
to do away with the Gazette notification, that proscribe
the Tamil militants. Up to now, she has failed to take
necessary action to lift the proscription imposed on the
Tamil militant organization. Why?

At this
point of time, the President has failed to take into
cognizance of the fact that, on 27 January 1998, through
an Extraordinary Gazette notification No:1012/16 of 27,
the Government of Sri Lanka proscribed LTTE, under
regulations promulgated under the Public Security
Ordinance, effective from 26 January 1998. Under the same
proscribing order, regulation (f) "Communicates or
attempt to communicate to any person in any manner, any
order, decision, declaration or extortion made or
purported to have been made by such organization or by
any member thereof or any information relating thereto
for the purpose of advancing the objectives of such
proscribed organization."

Accordingly,
any person found guilty of an offense under the emergency
regulations, who on conviction, is liable for
imprisonment for a period of not less than seven years
and not exceeding fifteen years. Though the establishment
of contact with the LTTE both by the Government, the
opposition or by any others, according to law is
impeachable, though the verbiage used in the regulation
is vague, and may be a little severe, depending on the
interpretations, but the President has to lift the
proscription order before entering on a dialogue with the
LTTE.

As far as
the Tamil Tigers are concerned, they have not shown any
interest about their proscription, because according to
them, either they were proscribed or not, they are not
the least worried about it. On the other hand, this is
not the case with the Government. They have to lift the
proscription, before dispatching their delegates to Oslo,
to enter into any dialogue with the Tamil Tigers.

Conclusion:

Intransigence
and chauvinism displayed both by the Government leaders
and by the Tamil militants, have led to exacerbate the
ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka, where thousands have been
killed, millions displaced internally as well as
internationally, whilst peace and harmony, yet remain, a
distant mirage to the citizenry of the country. Therefore
while concluding, it becomes obligatory to reproduce the
prophetic pragmatic lines of Knut Vollebaek, the
Norwegian Foreign Minister:

"This
places heavy responsibility on the parties themselves, I
am encouraged by the expressed willingness to seek a
political solution. However this will take time. It will
be difficult and will require courage and sacrifices. It
will require the necessary political will from the
parties."

Therefore,
the success and failure of the negotiated political
settlement, rest not with Norway, but with the Sri Lankan
Government led by Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge and
on the shoulders of the Tiger Supremo, Velupillai
Prabakaran.

Anyhow, at
this preliminary stage, things are moving smoothly and
according to reliable information, the peace negotiation
is on course, and Norway is expected to deliver a
tangible result in the near future.